Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

THE VIOTORIAN FLEET ORDERED
TO THE HEADS.
His Excellency the Governor of Victoria
received a telegram from Admiral Tryon
on Wednesday, requesting that all naval
pensioners and all officers and men of the
Royal Naval Reserve resident in Victoria
should be notified that they will be re
quired to hold themselves in readiness to
be called out at short notice for active
service. The notice will (says a Mel
bourne contemporary) probably appear in
the Gazette, but Admiral Tryon desires
that it should receive a more %geeral
dissemination by the publio press. It is
understood that despatches have been
received which indicato not only the
possibility of an uearly outbreak oif hos
tilities between England and Russia, but
that a collision between the naval forces
in these seas and Russian cruisers is by
no means remote, though the authorities
are naturally reticent upon the subject.
le connection with this view of the
matter our Williamstown correspondent
wired on Wednesday night that at a late
hour in the evening the gunboat Albert,
under the command of Lieutenant Dennis,
had been ordered away under sealed
orders to the head of the South Channel,
where H.MI.V.S. Nelson is at present
anchored, and it is believed the object of
the former's removal is to strengtlhen the
deferieein the channel. The Williams
"own contingent of the Naval Reserve
also received orders to muster at their
drill-rooms early on Friday morning, and
it was rumoured at Williamstown yester.
day that the Cerberus and Victoria would
leave the bay for the Heads at daylight
that morning, and with the other vessels
take up a position protecting the South
Ohannel. The authorities decline to
give any information as to these move.
ments.
$